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Ava Noe, 12, dresses as Hamilton character Angelica Schuyler holding a playbill she created for opening night of the production, the start of its three-week run at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis on Tuesday, July 9, 2019. Though Noe has never seen the show, of the songs, she claims to "know every word by heart. I stutter sometimes but that's beside the point," she adds, about the show's rap-style music. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal

Ava Noe, 12, dresses as Hamilton character Angelica Schuyler in her hand-made costume for opening night of the production, the start of its three-week run at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis on Tuesday, July 9, 2019. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal

People take a photo outside along Main Street before Hamiltonâ€™s for opening night, the start of its three-week run at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis on Tuesday, July 9, 2019. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal

Ava Noe, 12, dresses as Hamilton character Angelica Schuyler in her hand-made costume for opening night of the production, the start of its three-week run at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis on Tuesday, July 9, 2019. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal

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Memphis, here is some good news, for a change (assuming we're not still in coronavirus lockdown in 2021):

"Hamilton" will return to the Orpheum next year.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash hit musical about the ill-fated Founding Father is only the most prominent among a number of notable titles in the 2020-2021 "Broadway Season" at the Orpheum.

The lineup also includes a coincidentally feline-focused popular duo — "The Lion King" and "Cats" — along with the Jimmy Buffett-inspired "Escape to Margaritaville" and back-to-back winners of the Tony Award for Best Musical: last year's winner, "Hadestown," and the previous year's "The Band's Visit."

The remaining two shows in the eight-musical lineup aren't slackers, either. They are "Mean Girls," adapted from the Tina Fey-scripted movie, and "Jesus Christ Superstar," adapted, from, well, the New Testament.

"I think it's a great mix between the old and the new, the artistic and the absolute joyful fluff of 'Margaritaville,'" said Brett Batterson, Orpheum president and chief executive officer.

Batterson announced the next "Broadway Season" lineup at 6 p.m. Monday via the Orpheum's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. The "virtual" announcement replaced an Orpheum tradition, a free "announcement party" celebrating the upcoming Broadway season. The party was scheduled for the same time Monday at the historic theater, but was canceled due to coronavirus concerns.

Memphis, are you ready for "Hamilton"?(Photo: The Orpheum)

"Hamilton" is set for July 13 to Aug. 1, 2021 — at the Orpheum, a run that almost matches the three weeks the show spent at the theater in July 2019, "when it sold out every ticket that was available to it for all 24 shows," Batterson said.

Also, the presence of "Hamilton" on the 2019-2020 schedule led to a record number of season ticket-holders for the Broadway season. Batterson said the Orpheum capped season-ticket subscriptions that year at 13,000 to ensure tickets would be available for those who wanted to see the show but weren't interested in or couldn't afford a season pass.

Meanwhile, the popularity of "Cats" remains intact, despite the many jokes at the show's expense, especially in the wake of the recent flop movie musical adaptation.

"People joke about how many times 'Cats' has been to Memphis," Batterson said. "But by the time it gets here this time, it will have been 10 years since it last played Memphis."

In fact, "Cats" has played the Orpheum 16 times since its debut here in 1986, but its most recent visit was in 2018.

Guest entering the Orpheum Theatre head to their seat in Downtown Memphis for the 27th National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award night Wednesday October 17, 2018 in the Orpheum Theatre.(Photo: Ariel Cobbert, The Commerical Appeal )

What's on the lineup

Here is the Orpheum 2020-2021 Broadway Season lineup:

"Escape to Margaritaville," Sept. 22-27. A bartender falls for a tourist in this 2017 musical, which mixes original songs with such "Parrothead" favorites as "Cheeseburger in Paradise," "Son of a Son of a Sailor," "A Pirate Looks at Forty" and "Volcano" (co-written by Memphis' own Keith Sykes).

"Disney's The Lion King," Oct. 21-Nov. 8. One of the most cleverly designed of all stage shows, this Orpheum crowd-pleaser (it previously sold out its runs here in 2003, 2007 and 2015) uses spectacular stagecraft to evoke the original 1994 film's animated world of lions, hyenas, giraffes and other African animals. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1998, the musical should draw new fans thanks to last year's digitally animated movie remake. The remake earned $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the seventh highest-grossing film of all time (just above "The Avengers" and just below "Jurassic World").

"Jesus Christ Superstar," Dec. 8-13. Just in time for Christmas, the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber musical this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1970 record album that preceded the stage adaptation by one year.

"Cats," Feb. 9-14. Another Andrew Lloyd Webber hit, inspired by "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," a whimsical collection of verses released by T.S. Eliot in 1939.

"Mean Girls," March 9-14. A 2018 Broadway musical, inspired by the 2004 film that starred Lindsay Lohan as a 16-year-old student negotiating the social cliques of her new high school.

"The Band's Visit," March 30-April 4, 2021. Inspired by a 2007 Israeli film, this tale of an Egyptian police orchestra stranded in an isolated desert town in Israel won 11 of its 12 Tony Award nominations in 2018.

"Hadestown," May 4-9, 2021. Winner of eight Tonys in 2019, this love story inspired by Greek myths involving Orpheus, Persephone and other characters takes viewers on what is described as a "hell-raising journey" — literally.

"Hamilton," July 13-Aug. 1, 2021. Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash hit about Alexander Hamilton didn't just win 11 Tonys in 2016, it also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

New season ticket packages go on sale May 4. Those interested in more information about season tickets should contact the Orpheum Box Office at 901-525-3000 or visit orpheum-memphis.com/season. The dates for ticket sales for individual shows will be announced later.